Sirona Says

How do Generation Y'ers and Generation Z'ers communicate?

This may surprise you (it certainly did me) that mobile texting didn't come out top in this survey, especially the way my daughters use their mobiles!! Habbo's Global Youth Survey looked at generation Y and generation Z teenagers - particularly aged 11-18 - to see how they communicate with other people (friends, family etc). Here are the ways they communicate:

1. Instant Messaging via internet  81%
2. Meeting in person   77%
3. Text Messages   70%
4. Talking on the phone   60%
5. Social Networking sites  54%
6. Email   41%

So as an employer looking to tap into this market, it does make interesting reading. Although the surprising one at the bottom is email with only 41%, it must be said that 72% of them do hold current email accounts but only use them for non-personal communication like school, work and family(!!!).

Social networking going mainstream.....right into school!!

A great post on the Utah SEO Pro blog by Jordan Kasteler  has highlighted what is now inevitable - the march of social networking into mainstream society. He found a college in the USA that is now studying social networking and even producing exams in it as well!! Below is an example some of the questions put to the students...(I know you will know the answers but just in case Jason has provided the links!)

COMM 1500

1. A ______ is a social structure made of nodes (which are generally individuals or organizations that are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as values, visions, idea, financial exchange, friends, kinship, dislike, conflict, trade, web links, sexual relations, disease transmission, (epidemiology), or airline routes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network
2. What is social networking trying to do? Most of the applications so far offer one or more of eight features or functionalities. http://blog.fastcompany.com/archives/2006/08/15/social_networking_a_status_report.html
3. Lots of people have opinion about Twitter, ranging from a complete waste of time to the indispensable connector with your community. What is Twitter? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter or http://twitter.com/
4. What is an RSS feed? http://www.fastcompany.com/about/rss.html and http://www.whatisrss.com/
5. They use video and paper to make complex ideas easy to understand. They present subjects “in plain English” using short, unique and understandable videos in a format called Paperworks. http://www.commoncraft.com/
6. Be familiar with the following Social Networks:

• iLike - http://ilike.com
• MySpace - http://www.myspace.com
• Facebook - http://www.facebook.com
• YouTube - http://www.youtube.com
• LinkedIn - http://www.linkedin.com

Let's hope that it isn't too long before we see this in the UK soon!!

LinkedIn - the next stage, network expansion

Following my article about LinkedIn for beginners, several people have asked what the next stage is with LinkedIn. Fortunately I don't have to write that one as there is a very good video below by Geoff Peterson - a global Top 150 linker - that explains very well how to further expand your network.

Find more videos like this on RecruitingBlogs.com

Blogs ARE here to stay, so get started!

Many companies are still shying away from the power of the blog. But some latest figures released by Comscore show that blogs are what people are reading online. Companies should really start to think about how they can harness this massive trend and use blogs. They could use them for recruitment, retention,product promotion, news and so much more - in fact the list is endless!!  The only advice I would say is to just put some thought into it first.........then blog away!!!

Here are the latest Comscore stats:

The Top 20 UK Blogging Sites had 33.2 million visitors in February (and thats JUST the Top 20!)

The Worlds Top 20 UK Blogging Sites had 822.9 million visitors in February.

So for all you non-believers out there, now is the time to start blogging!! After all it is what everyone else is doing!!!

How to use SEM / SEO Tools to write job adverts

As a recruiter, one key part of your role is writing advert copy for your own online adverts. There will be many recruiters that simply place the 'actual' job title and 'actual' job spec onto their chosen job board or portal such as Broadbean or Conkers, and leave it at that. They then wonder why they get limited response. I have previously posted about writing creative adverts, but my point is this time to for recruiters to actually consider what the job seeker is searching for.
Search engine marketing (SEM)  and search engine optimisation (SEO) consultants use keyword searching tools such as SEO Book, Wordtracker or AdwordsTools to identify keywords people are using when they search online.  But how many of you are doing the same when you write a job advert? After all you are trying to get the same effect - people looking for jobs using keywords to search.

The Social Network for Talent Managers - Talent Management Network

There seems to be social networks for pretty much every subject matter you can imagine, but surprisingly the one subject that was missing was Talent Management. Well this need has finally been answered, with the creation of The Talent Management Network.

Peter Gold - the social media evangelist | the Guru's arch enemy | company sniper | ATS vendor's worst nightmare | "don't upset me or I will....." | Friend of Willy  - (you don't need to 'delete as applicable' because they are ALL true!!!) has produced this network aimed purely at Talent Managers in companies large and small.

There is no question that with talent management matters being the no 1 problem with HR globally, that a forum was needed to be able compare / advise / help / discuss talent management issues. This Network aims to do just that. So if you are a Talent Manager (any level) or are involved in Talent Management, then this is a network you need to be part of. Just send me an email with Talent Management Network in the subject line and I will send you an invite to become part of this fast growing and essential network.

Twitter got me in the end!

Ok, I have to admit it I thought this Twitter thing was just a fad of social networking and something that would blow over! How wrong I was!  In the space of 20 minutes this morning, I had the social media evangelist - Peter Gold, banging on to me about Twitter and how good it was, then as if by magic, the latest post from Louise of UK Recruiter arrived in inbox on (check out Caroline Middlebrook's guide that she mentions)...........you've guessed it, Twitter!!

So having explored it in more detail, I realised that there could be something in this and took the plunge to experience what everyone is talking about. So follow me and lets see where this goes!! Here is my debut tweet.

After all if the marketing guru Seth Godin, is preaching about it then there must be something in it!

Has Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) been around longer than we realise?

Are the principles of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), a key part of today's web world in terms of Search Engine Marketing (SEM), really that innovative? Compare them to the 'old analogue world' style and see what you think.

Three of the most important aspects of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) are;

1. Don’t do anything to upset the Search Engines means  in 'old world' parlance Play a straight game
2. Make sure that you’ve got good unique content means  in 'old world' parlance Offer things that add value
3. Do your best to link with other quality and relevant sites means  in 'old world' parlance Hang around and network with interesting people

Is the theory behind SEO that new after all? Admittedly it has been brought up to date, but the underlying concept is no different is it, if you consider the end game?

Videojug - the award winning 'How to' video website - awesome!!

For all you video junkies - here is an award winning site that you can actually learn from. Videojug, is a wealth of 'How To' produced videos and covers over 20 subject groups. From Food & Drink to Technology & Gadgets to Sports & Fitness and even Love & Sex  (yes that is correct!!).

But the most important section for jobs and recruitment, is their Jobs & Careers section (shown here).

This is really a very good video site with some great content.

Are Generation Y'ers more powerful than we realise?

These Generation Y'ers  - also known as the Thumb Generation and the Net Generation - have more power than people realise......and they know it. Part of the differences between X & Y generations is down to the inbuilt attitude they have to life, and the type of care free approach they have. They are not interested in buying houses ( they can't afford to anyway), they want to experience life and enjoy themselves - and trying to recruit them will be a challenge!

But there is a very forward thinking individual that has seen the vision to harness the power of the Generation Y'ers - it is the US Democratic Presidential Candidate, Barack Obama. In a great article by Bea Fields she has shown how Barack Obama has blatantly targeted this generation to win votes in his battle with Hilary Clinton for the Democratic Nomination, and it seems that the creativity and foresight he ( or his team!) has shown it to be a successful strategy so far in the race for the White House.

Can you imagine the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, using YouTube to deliberately deliver his message to the people? or keeping a website continually updated every hour with the latest news? or attending an Usher concert instead of political event? Well of course the answer to all three is 'absolutely not', as you probably guessed!!  But if one of the (potentially) most important leaders of the world has seen the power of the Y Generation, why is it that so many companies are just not paying attention? Why are they dragging their heals when it comes to things like corporate social networks and blogs? They will be the first to complain when they are losing the talent to their competitors!!